Summary: It's been 20 years since the alien craft made its presence known hovering over the South African city of Johannesburg. During this time frame, the aliens have been brought down to the surface and have been provided a large area of property with shack-like low-cost housing called District 9 for their staggering numbers of 1.5+ million residents. The aliens were basically given free reign to move about as they pleased, though businesses and local agencies preferred to segregate them from society wherever possible. A local group of Nigerian outlaws have been bartering with the aliens, known as Prawns, trading food for weapons. When the riots began, an arms-dealing research agency known as MNU (Multi-National United) was brought on board with the task of herding the alien populus into the new, highly secure District 10 to fully separate them from humans, while confiscating any alien weaponry found in the process. During this transition the head of the operation, Wikus van der Merwe, comes in contact with a strange liquid that begins to have adverse effects on his body. Now wanted for research purposes, Wikus is on the run fighting to stay alive in the midst of the Prawns, the Nigerians, and MNU.
Pros: In terms of realism, quite possibly the greatest special effects to grace a theatre screen. The attention to detail will rarely, if ever, have you questioning what you see. The movie's take on aliens being able to coexist with humans on a widescale and for an extended period of time is a rather new concept, and the documentary-style flavor plays well into the film.
Cons: The summary I wrote above wasn't at all what I was expecting to see based on the trailer, and I can't really say I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting either a large-scale, alien invasion/war or some greater form of fear/terror rather than one man's fight for survival. And I'm not sure if seeing the film at 9:00 PM had anything to do with it, but I was yawning consistently by the last half hour, despite some deaths and explosions.
Conclusion: 3.5/5.0. Possibly affected by expectations, the trailer (particularly the teaser trailer) hinted at a film of epic proportions and I don't feel it delivered. However, it was a very solid film, maintaining the attention of the audience with special effects, subtitles, and a strange but intriguing plotline. I would refrain from seeing a late showing, though.
-Kevin